Hey everybody, Jim Minnery here on I'm Glad You Said That. It is a Wednesday, April 16th of Holy Week. Super grateful for our friends John and Sandy Powers to be sponsors of the show. We are a ministry of Alaska. Family Council. And today on the show, I have Jeff Landfield. A lot of people might say, what the heck, Jeff Landfield? Isn't he that leftist? Heads the Alaska landmine, and yeah, he has some center-left opinions, or even maybe far-left opinions, but he's also...
You know, I would consider a friend. I've known him for quite some time and he's pleasant and, you know. What I want to say about this is something I just read about C.S. Lewis. And this article says, his tolerance then for opinions he thought mistaken. cannot easily be derided as facile or wooly. Rather, it can be attributed to his belief that, my own eyes are not enough for me. He knew that he needed other perspectives.
to supplement, relieve, and correct his own. And this big-hearted attitude was not just a persona he adopted for professional purposes, it informed his closest friendships too. And people, I've realized, have said that about C.S. Lewis, that they loved argument before him or with him because he pursued it with grace. And so anyway... Hope you'll enjoy the conversation with Jeff Landfill and I about various matters here coming up shortly. I did want to read, though, something that I sent out.
through the emails. If you go to akfamily.org and sign up, you can get those emails. But this is the presidential message on Holy Week from the White House that I thought was just... absolutely clear and couldn't be more filled with what is true. This Holy Week, Melania and I join in prayer with Christians celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
the living Son of God who conquered death, freed us from sin, and unlocked the gates of heaven for all of humanity. Again, this is from the White House, from President Donald J. Trump and his wife Melania. Beginning with Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and culminating in the Pascal Triduum.
which begins on Holy Thursday with the Mass of the Lord's Supper, followed by Good Friday and reaching its pinnacle in the Easter Vigil on a holy Saturday night. This week is a time of reflection for Christians to memorialize Jesus. crucifixion and to prepare their hearts minds and souls for his miraculous resurrection from the dead
During this sacred week, we acknowledge that the glory of Easter Sunday cannot come without the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross. In his final hours on earth, Christ willingly endured excruciating pain, torture, and execution on the cross out of a deep and abiding love for all of his creation. Through his suffering, we have redemption.
Through his death, we are forgiven of our sins. Through his resurrection, we have hope of eternal life. On Easter morning, the stone is rolled away, the tomb is empty, and the light prevails over darkness. signaling that death does not have the final word. This Holy Week, my administration renews its promise to defend the Christian faith in our schools, military, workplaces, hospitals and the halls of government.
We will never waver in safeguarding the right to religious liberty, upholding the dignity of life, and protecting God in our public square. As we focus on Christ's redeeming sacrifice, we look to his love, humility, and obedience. even in life's most difficult and uncertain moment.
This week we pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our beloved nation. We pray that America will remain a beacon of faith, hope, and freedom for the entire world. And we pray to achieve a future that reflects the truth. beauty, and goodness of Christ's eternal kingdom in heaven. May God bless you and your family during this special time of year, and may he continue to bless the United States of America.
And that, again, is the presidential message on Holy Week 2025 from the White House. President Donald J. Trump and Melania. Now say what you want about. Trump and some of his things he's done. that we all have done either in our minds or in other ways similar in terms of falling short of the glory of God. We all have fallen short. But that is powerful. And I'm sure that there have been really solid proclamations. I'd love to go back and look at Ronald Reagan's and George W. Bush's.
Shoot, I mean, the reality is we can look back not too far and see what happened during Holy Week with our former president, Joe Biden, in identifying. Transgender Week, I think, is what they did at the same time as the holiest week of the year for Christians. What an amazing reminder that we are blessed to live in a... in a country that has religious liberty as one of the pillars, if not the pillar, the first liberty to be able to not just worship.
but to practice our faith in the public square. And, you know, to say this, I think those words that are in many ways exclusive to other faiths. because the Christian... the reality to deal with, that narrow is the way to truth and wide is the way to deception. And so that is something that we have to address and think of as an honor, actually, in terms of...
If we have been given the gift of faith, which is what Ephesians 2, 8, 9 says, is that it's a gift. It's not even something that we can call as our own. What an amazing thing. And what an even more amazing thing that we've been given the ability to. to spread that news that Christ died for each of us and that we have an opportunity for fellowship. to have in heaven for all of eternity. What a blessing.
So we're going to be chatting with Jeff Landfield here in a bit. A couple things to talk about quickly for these last few minutes. Two things that I think are worth noting. One was language of intent in terms of the abortion issue and whether the state should provide for abortions.
through medicaid and uh this was one of the first times i think where it was very very clear that that The Republican Party has those in its midst that do not appreciate the stand of protecting life and not having to pay for abortion. Louis Stutes out of Kodiak was the only one, the only Republican who voted against the measure. It was a tie vote 2020. They needed 21. She would have been the 21st.
legislative legislator to make that statement. It's not binding, you know, it's an intent language, but it was pretty important for those of us who take the life issue seriously. over the years that Louise, you know, and if I'm not mistaken, she has made some decisions that are noteworthy in terms of being pro-life, but this was definitely not one of them. finer moments and so that will probably come back uh to address her when she runs probably
for that Senate seat. We'll talk about that more. In fact, Jeff Landfill and I will probably talk about that as well. The other thing that happened, I think, was very encouraging was that they decided through an amendment that Sarah Vance forwarded. that the state of Alaska should not pay for trans surgery.
and very encouraging that we were able to make that happen despite the way the leadership is composed right now. So that's good news. Hey, folks, happy Easter. We'll see you next week, and I'm glad you said that. We'll be right back. Hey guys, welcome back. Jim Minnery here on I'm Glad You Said That. And I have Jeff Landfield on the line. We've known each other for a while, Jeff. Thanks for being on the show, bud.
11 maybe when I ran for the House and then the Senate in 2012. We had coffee over there at now Black Cup, I think before Cafe Del Mundo. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Good memory. It was a long time. Your wife was there, too. I met her as well. Yeah, I mean, I would consider you a unicorn or, you know, in terms of... People try to get their head wrapped around certain folks.
It reminds me a little bit. There's a guy named Michael Ramirez. I don't know if you've heard of him. He's like, in my view, the best cartoon political writer. cartoonist political cartoonist in the world I mean he's just not not just because of what he writes but because how brilliant he is in terms of his artistry and his talent but He also does – I mean he's for sure considered – like his latest book is called Everyone Has the Right to My Opinion. And it's – he's very much –
It's very much conservative, but you got to look him up. But he throws curveballs. I mean, he takes down Trump. He just did one really. Junior. And so he's always he's always throwing curveballs. I think of you is that way. But to give folks just that haven't heard of you, which is hard to imagine because you've been in the political world for a while up here, but we don't have. just political sycophants or people that are absolutely...
you know, engaged all the time in politics that listen to the show. So maybe get people an idea of who Jeff Lanfield is and kind of what got you to the place where you're at right now. Just a little background. Well, I moved to Alaska in August of 2004. I was 19. I was raised in New Mexico, and a buddy and I decided to...
I went to University of New Mexico for a year, and I kind of wanted to get out of there. And actually, at one point in high school, I had seen at a college fair, University of Alaska Anchorage and this is before the TV and Palin and all that and all the reality stuff and I was thinking like wow they have colleges there and you think oh my gosh I thought it was just some cold kind of dark distant place and
I really wanted to go to the Air Force Academy in high school and didn't get in and kind of didn't know what I was doing. Buddy and I moved up here in 2004, and I went to UAA, and it was kind of a long story about that and what I did in the meantime. But eventually I graduated, and I worked for an IT company, a small IT company that a guy I knew owned, a Russian guy owned it. We did like IT networking and database stuff and software stuff.
I eventually just started going to a lot of the RDC, Aoga events, the trade group stuff, more for networking and for trying to find business. That was my job, but then I started to get really familiar with the state budget issue back then, and we had this ACES, and there was...
That was being debated, and the budget was growing with the windfall back in 08-09 when the price of oil was very high, and I started to get very concerned about the budget because it was growing so much, and there was a lot of money being saved, but I was...
saying, wow, this is like we're spending so much money, and what's going to happen in the long term? And I ended up running for the Senate in 2012 against Lisa McGuire, and I lost in the Republican primary. Got pretty close. Stayed involved in politics. I ended up going to Australia. I ran in 2016 again for that same seat against Natasha Von Inhofe and Craig Johnson in the Republican primary, and Natasha kind of smoked both of us.
I ended up going to Australia for a year, and I started kind of a travel blog when I was over there writing stories and things I've witnessed and observed. When I came back to Alaska, End of 2017. I just kind of realized from being in politics and watching things and seeing what wasn't reported or what happened that people didn't really know about. Amanda Coyne had stopped her. She had AmandaCoyne.com, which was a great website.
kind of insider political stuff. And she went to work for Senator Sullivan. And I don't know, I just decided to start this kind of news. It was kind of a blog at first. It was just me kind of giving my opinions once a week. And then it really grew over. the first couple years. And since 2019, I started going to Juneau for the session every year. This is my seventh session in a row covering politics in Juneau and what happens here.
The good, the bad, and the ugly. Unfortunately, more bad and ugly than good. But that's kind of my story. I mean, there's a lot more in between there I could go into for hours, but that's kind of the high level. No, I get it. Totally. I mean, and, you know, the reality is that you and I have met at certain events and we've talked and. You know, I'm going to just do a speed date type of quick questions. I thought about it today as we were getting ready to go on.
that it might be fun just to hear, you know, off the cuff responses to some super quick questions. to maybe give us some more fodder to chew on for the next, um, two segments. But, um, so just, if you don't want to answer, cool. If you just say pass or whatever, but then I'm just going to get a lot of different, um, questions. The first one, I'll answer, I'll answer, I'll answer anything. Did you vote on Suzanne Downey's latest poll on governor and if so, who?
did you vote um i did not vote in that i saw it i didn't i did not vote Okay. What is your take on the transgender ideology? That's a huge question, I know, but give folks an idea of where you stand on that. I mean, I think it's a real problem that's kind of infected our politics. I mean, I feel bad for people who have this kind of dysphoria, but I don't think we should be. subjecting kids to drugs or medical interventions. I mean, I think it's...
It's a big, big loser for the Democrats. And I think it's so bizarre how some people have just made this kind of their big issue. But I feel bad for people who have kind of carried this for you. And I say when you're 18, kind of. You know, do what you want. I don't want to judge people, but I think subjecting kids to the drugs or medical treatment is wrong, and I'm surprised some people have kind of hitched their wagon to this thing.
Yeah, I will kind of park our car here just for a little bit because, you know, we work on this issue a decent amount. And, you know, the question recently advised the. the Alaska legislature to pass statutes as they have in in about 22 states, I think, to protect kids from this. One of the things I would recommend When we brought up Chloe Cole, you might have been at one of our events when we did that.
um but when we brought chloe cole sort of the face of the trends de-transitioning movement you know i was going to watch i just do a little bit of research and i i thought you know i'm gonna uh watched this interview that she had with Jordan Peterson, and it ended up being like a... It was like a two hour show. And I thought there's no way I'm going to watch it. But I was so riveted because, you know, Jordan has gotten popular for.
his media and his opinions and his books, but his craft, his vocation is addressing people like Chloe in a client relationship. He was a very accomplished psychologist. I read his book, The 12 Rules for Life, and I watch a lot of his... Good stuff. He's an interesting, entertaining person to watch. Yeah, but what was interesting about this particular piece with Chloe, and I'd recommend you watching it, I'd recommend anybody watching it. I mean, just Google Chloe Follin.
and jordan peterson but it was basically like we were a fly on the wall in a counseling session that he had for two hours and he literally broke down because he was so discouraged and It just unbelievably depressed about his profession and how they had failed her on so many different levels. because of the agenda and it's not to say that these people maybe don't have the best intentions I mean if you look at it from a negative perspective it's like wow they really are trying to force these kids
positions that they will regret and can't reverse the rest of their life. But he was... So anyway, it was just really... Well, I've seen some of that. I didn't see... When they're up here, but I did watch part of that interview, and then there was that Matt Walsh one as a woman, which was... I don't know if you saw that. I'm sure you did. That was also very telling. And I did see Riley Gaines when she was up here, when she came here last year with your group and spoke. That was really good.
Yeah, well, it's weird that, like you said, they've hitched their They've hitched their wagon to this issue and seem to be doubling down despite the numbers. It reminds me of that, another guy we brought up here a long time ago, Michael Medved, who's a Jewish... commentator on media. Not so popular anymore. When I was a kid, my dad listened to Michael Madvid.
No, a really smart, interesting dude. And he wrote a book called Hollywood vs. America. And that's kind of what reminds me of what the left is doing with this trans issue is that it doesn't make sense because they're losing votes. The public opinion seems to be. being more and more in favor of protecting girls sports, keeping biology as we've always known it. And certainly, like you said, if people are over the age of 18 and they want to.
you know, transform their body through surgery or chemicals. Well, then you have that right. I mean, I, you know, that's the reality is that, um, I think entertaining a delusion is, is not, uh, probably the best way to approach this and and also you know i'm not you know I'm a doctor here, but there's a condition, I forget the name of it, but there's a really rare condition where people...
Sounds so bizarre, but people feel like they shouldn't have their arm or their leg. You know, they have this weird mental issue going on where they think their arm shouldn't be there, you know, or their leg shouldn't be there. And, you know, generally I think it's like not allowed for doctors to chop off the unhealthy limbs of people. I mean, I don't think they're allowed to do that. Some people take extreme measures to lose their limbs because they want to feel like it shouldn't be there.
I just, you know, doing these radical surgeries on people, I don't, it just, I think most people are very skeptical. But, you know, like I said, if you're 18 and you want to dress up like the other gender, I don't think we should be mean to people. But I really don't think we should treat it as like normal. No, right. I get it. Hey, folks, we're chatting with Jeff Lanfield. He is. and an influencer, I would say, in town, and he...
does the landmine, Alaska landmine, and go check it out. I mean, it's going to throw you a curveball. Like I said before, we'll be right back after this first break to chat about a couple other things. All right, stick around. Hey, guys. Welcome back. Jim Minery here on I'm Glad You Said That, chatting with Jeff Landfill, the unicorn. And I say that in a complimentary way, Jeff, because it's very predictable. It's why I sometimes love these kinds of pieces of legislation that really have.
bipartisan support or opposition, just because it's like it gives you a break from the standard, you know, lines that you always hear from both sides. And it's predictable. ad nauseum and it's, you know, it's boring. I mean, so it's like sometimes it's cool to be able to just go out out of bounds. But so we were we were discussing the transition. One of the things that I said was, if you want to and you are older or over the age of 18, that you should have the right to surgery or...
chemical castration, as it were. But I'm not saying it's a right thing. I'm just saying that we certainly have to draw the line at youth. And you're right. There are some people... If you end up being 25 years old and you decide that you want to have, you know, liposuction and you're a 90 pound. you know, frail young lady because you have anorexia. Well, I don't know. Is there a law that would say, you know, the reality is that there are sadly, you know.
people in the profession that will take care of that just because of the pay. But I think what's happening, I hope in Alaska, and it was kind of the first shot across the bow with the Board of Medicine. It was very obvious that the legislature is not going to do anything. And it's interesting, too, because we're right on that cusp of.
you know one vote or another um could turn the tide and all of a sudden we have a majority that can get hearings on these kind of issues and we might be able to pass it i mean just showed that With the trans issue in terms of state funding of that, we passed. It was along party lines, but people like Stutes, I think.
both were on the right side of that. Now, Stutes, I think it was interesting because I'd be curious about your take on this abortion issue because it's been introduced and passed by the House. fairly consecutive years in a row sessions in a row and this is the first time where she made a strong stand to say no I don't I don't want to do that although But she stands out alone in terms of the Republicans. Both the items you're talking about are intent language in the budget.
are basically just, that's all they are. It's intent language. It really doesn't, I guess it's a statement more than anything. Yeah, that was debated pretty heavily yesterday. I mean, a few of the Democrats were not very happy about the funding of the, I guess, gender care. And I think the abortion one failed 20 to 20. But, you know, people try and put stuff in the budget a lot of times called intent language and it sounds nice, but it's really not really that enforceable.
As far as what it does. It's not a bill. It's not like law. It's just more of, hey, here's what we think. Right. And I've always told people, you know, this story. I don't know if I've told you before, but I had a friend who had an abortion when she was, I think, 16. through Medicaid. It was down in Texas when it was a blue state with Governor Ann Richards.
She ended up getting pregnant with her second baby and was getting ready to have an abortion through Medicaid again. And at that time, the legislature couldn't even get a hearing. Because it was dominated by the left, the progressive liberals, but they were able to get one hearing. That's all it was. And she saw it in, I think, the Dallas Morning News.
that they were debating on whether to pay for abortions through Medicaid. It was the first time in her life that she had ever actually heard, well, why wouldn't they? And that brought her to a place of carrying the baby to term and she has grandkids. baby right now. And so I always tell that story to say,
The government's job is to lift up that which is good and to punish evil. And sometimes you can lift up that which is good by proclamations or by resolutions or by intent language. You can't always get it across the finish line. I mean, you want to, but by the government actually stating something. It sometimes can be a positive thing and obviously fire up the opposition as well. But I think I'm more concerned or more interested in.
what your take is on that rate that people have been talking about. have been talking about Gary Stevens retiring forever. I've heard that his wife's going to divorce him if he doesn't. you know, finally bow out. Yeah, no, I mean, him and, I mean, I think it's pretty widely known that he and Lyman Hoffman are both not running for re-election. So I think very likely that you'll see Bryce Edgeman take the Lyman Hoffman seat and probably Luis Stude.
Take the Gary Stevens seat. I guess it's conceivable Sarah Vance could run as well, but I would put my money on Louise Stu. I don't even know if Luis does file and intend to run, which I think she will soon. I don't even know if Sarah Vance would want to. Because Ben Carpenter did that, and it's all or nothing. He could have kept his house safe, but he went for the Senate. Some people just get tired of being here, so they kind of say, you know, let's go for the big one or go home.
But I would probably make sure to guess that Vance would stay in the house. She's really safe there. Yeah, you know, it's interesting because I have had chats with folks about that. And even though Stevens continues to get. or had you know got however many in a row um election victories you know it's a pretty big district in terms of how it was redistricted and It goes like Anchor Point, Kodiak, Seward. Yeah, it's huge.
I mean, like Cordova and Yakutat. I mean, there's, there's a, I don't know. I'm a big fan of Sarah Vance. I'd love for her to put her hat in the ring. I think that Louise Stutz, especially after this vote. You know, and like you said, it's an intent language, but I think that that opens her up to, you know. A lot of the folks that might be a little bit more conservative minded, you know, someone told me once about her that.
kodiak doesn't care about anything in terms of what party you're with or whatever they just want you to bring home the bacon regarding their industry which is the you know fish process, the seafood industry, all that. And so I get that. But it's not like someone like Sarah wouldn't also be a fan of that. And it'll be fun to see how that plays out. So do you think it's a fait accompli that Edgman gets Hoffman's seat? I mean, I haven't really studied that.
Oh, yeah. I mean, I'd be shocked. Majvin's kind of a powerful force in the Dillingham area, and then the other person's district is now Nellie Jimmy. who is brand new. So, I mean, I'm sure somebody else will run, but I would be shocked if anybody else besides Bryce Edgeman won that seat. I think that's, yeah, as you say, fait accompli.
And going back to that, you didn't ask me, but I'll just kind of give my opinion. I've talked to you about this in the past. I'm kind of reluctantly pro-choice. I don't think abortion is good. But I do understand why people... who feel very strongly about the pro-life issue don't want the government to pay for elective procedures, and I tend to kind of agree with that. I think abortion typically is the worst of a lot of bad, the best of a lot of really bad choices.
And like I said, that's kind of where I've been on that. I think we should do everything we can to discourage abortion. And it really bothers me. Makes me kind of almost sick. Some of the, you see these videos if you're ever on, you know, internet. Some people almost cheering it or celebrating it, which I don't think is good. I've never thought that was good. I think it loses actually people to their cause.
Yeah, I mean, it is interesting. I think at some level, rationally, logically, you have to be able to make it be in a, you know. decision and a procedure because if you if you start to identify it as anything and like you have which is that it's not a good decision but it's the you know It's one of several bad decisions that can be made, but ultimately, it's going to come down to the cultural side of the equation in terms of we can pass the laws like we have.
In so many different states now, I think 17 or whatever the number is, that you can no longer get the abortion. But abortions have, of course, decreased in those states. But then in other places, it becomes like a travel destination. California and New York and whatever, but it's a... I've always...
For a long time I've said that, and this sounds odd to most people when they first hear it, but if we had most of Europe's position, I think most people would agree. I mean, it's really hard to get an abortion a year after 12 or 15 weeks. It's not easy. No. And I think most people probably are thinking, oh, Europe, you know, it's very liberal. Do whatever you want. It's very. And actually, I'm reading Engel in Miracles.
book right in her autobiography called Freedom and she talks about during reunification in Germany this is a huge issue in Germany you know, when they reunited and kind of the new government and talking about how they were going to put the Constitution, this was a really, really big issue. And she talks kind of quite a bit about it in the book. And like I said, most of Europe have very strict policy laws about after I think it's 12 or 15 weeks. It's like it's very hard.
Well, yeah, it's weird to think that we're in line with North Korea. You know, I mean, there are countries that were one of the worst in the entire world in terms of how easy it is to get an abortion. And let's take our last break here. Folks, we're chatting with Jeff Landfield at Alaska Landmine. We'll be right back here, and I'm glad you said that, right after this break.
Hey guys, Jim Minery here on I'm Glad You Said That. We have Jeff Landfield on the program today. Jeff and I have known each other for a long time. have I would say formed a relationship you know the reality is that we find each other interesting we differ on some things but we have a lot in common I mean we've talked about the trans issue and We've talked about...
To put a pin in that and put it aside for the rest of this conversation, we both agree that it's harmful for kids. We think that no one should be maligned and alienated and castigated. you know um made to feel less than anyone else because that's a struggle that they have it's like we all have struggles and so uh but And on the life issue, you're just verifying that is so true that we are more radical than any other.
just about in the world regarding abortion. And it seems as though the pendulum shifts, you know, so often it's hard to know exactly. I like to tell people that all these states, however many it's been that have recently passed since Dobbs, the constitutional amendments that enshrine abortion in their constitution. The hardest states, in my view, were Ohio, Arizona, states that have typically been pretty pro-life. At least in Ohio's case, they were instrumental in getting Trump elected.
But the other side was better, has been better. And I think one of the things that is worth noting is that there's been a ton of deception in the campaigns.
And the other side typically outspends the pro-life side 3, 4, 6, 10 to 1, depending on the state. But what is encouraging, in my view, is that they've always used pretty... pretty prominent deception and saying things that weren't going to happen uh with a bill or with a constitutional amendment that uh that they were trying to place fear into people's minds not just it wasn't a head on head-on collision about abortion, not abortion, not at all. I've seen, you know...
This isn't my idea or pitch, but I've seen several times where people have been debating this issue and people, whatever issue it is, but they'll put out an extreme example of some very... wild scenario, and they say, okay, well, what about, you know, and then I've seen people argue, and it says, okay, well, fine, I'll grant you that. Let's just agree with that. Okay, fine. Let's talk about everything else.
That's right. I see what you're saying, and I think this happens with a lot of issues. People use extremes, and then if you say, okay, I'll grant you that one, let's move on to everything else, and then it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't say that. Well, yeah. One of the things that I would recommend you and others watching, if you have a chance, I think it's probably 20 minutes long or something. It's called 180.
I'm not sure if it's 180 degrees or 180, but the point of the title is that this guy from, I think he's New Zealand, I forget his name, but he's phenomenal. He goes on the beach or boardwalk in California, I think is where he does it. You know, and literally has these 10, 15, 20 minute long conversations that they edit. But at the beginning, these people are pretty radically or at least naively pro-choice. And then by the end, they.
uh turn 180 and are pretty much pro-life at the end because it's logic it's rational it's um not all of them of course but it's a fascinating look at how uh how unstable you know, the platform that people stand on that say, I'm going to be this way forever. And maybe that is the case, but there's a lot of room. On the other side of that, I've for a while been referring to Kathy Giesel as Kathy 180, because she's 180'd on basically every single playing game.
platform core values she's had, you know, going back like 10 years. I mean, oil taxes or labor or, you know, the pro-life. I mean, all these things. I actually saw last... Kathy Giesel used to be the maybe loudest voice of Right to Work. and kind of, you know, anti-union, and then she's switched that 180 on the pension things and other things, and I went to an AFL reception. There's all these groups coming to June all the time, and there was a reception.
And I went to her to go kind of mingle and see people and have a drink. And she walked in and she got a standing ovation. never forget that i'll never forget that i mean i was like What world are we living in when the loudest 10 years ago, 12 years ago, you know, advocate voice for right to work is getting a standing. I mean, that just kind of told me, that just kind of made me realize like, wow, anybody, really anybody can change.
Well, yeah, that's an interesting point because, you know, I obviously brought up that movie 180 because it's like these people see the light of what it is. through. Kathy, I'm not sure. She led or was one of our leaders. In 2010, when Alaska Family Council did our first kind of big campaign to get thrown a notification law passed through the statewide initiative, she collected tons of signatures.
Very strong ally. I don't understand it. Just like with Chuck Kopp, I don't understand it, but at the same time... you know people have to make their own decisions and we have to work with them and you know try to figure out how best to um to deal with our current environment that's one thing that is i always tell people that uh that are my colleagues in other states that run similar groups and some of them are you know unbelievably successful in florida and
You know, Arizona up until just recently. But there are a lot of states that have done just phenomenal things. And there are other states like Hawaii and California, New Jersey, New York. And they're really bad. And all they're trying to do is just stop the worst of the stuff. We are unique in that most of my colleagues will say when we get Republicans elected, they organize as Republicans.
And you guys really have a challenge with that. And it's unbelievable how predictable it is every year. It's like Charlie Brown, you know. Maybe I can come back on your show sometime because I have pretty strong opinions about why that is. I think a lot of that can be laid at the... hands of Republicans and really the governor on this dividend issue that has really poisoned and infected our politics. There's other things as well.
But the way, you know, last year, two years ago, when they finally organized, Luis Stutes and Dan Ortiz wanted to be in the majority. Yeah, they were told no, you know, and some of the stuff they did against I'm not saying that what they did was right or wrong with their decision. But I mean, some of the. Ways they treated Chuck Copps and some of these ads and the campaign. I mean, I don't blame them.
I wouldn't want to be the people who treated me that way. So there's a lot of... things that are happening and it is very strange but i try to explain to my friends down in the lower 48 about our politics and it's like They don't get it. I mean, you'd have to have almost a master class of a three-hour history lesson to get somebody to even start to comprehend why, I mean, majority Republicans in the House, majority Republicans in the Senate.
And the Democrats are kind of running the House. There's, you know, Luis Tutin, Chuck Cobb. The Senate's a little more split, but it's still more Democrats. interesting political situation. I believe there's some specific reasons for that that we can maybe talk about sometime. We are a weird political animal, Alaska. Well, yeah, not just the last couple of sessions. I don't remember. I remember doing something, a campaign, Reclaim Juno, I think we called it in 2000.
my gosh it might have been 2012 or uh it just seems like we have been dealing with this forever and literally since we started the organization in 2006 is that there's going to be someone that just can't get along and we don't like them. And so we, we, we, and then left. And the progressives have have I don't know if it's that they are able to sing from the same song sheet together. But I know that there are people that don't all have the exact same views that are still able.
galvanize because they realize... I think they're a little... I think they're a little better at sticking together, and I think they're also, most of them are honest enough with themselves that they shouldn't be in power. So they're willing to, you know, go to certain lengths to make sure they are. And, you know, up until 20, I mean, 2017 was the first coalition in the House, quote unquote coalition, where Democrats...
in charge. And before that, you know, the Republicans had, you know, big in 2013, I think it was... Supermajority in the House, Republican. Large majority in the Senate, Republican. Republican governor. And that was like that for a while. And then there's a lot of things that happened in the meantime that kind of led to the... I became an independent in 2020. I was a Republican for a long time.
Actually, for a long time ago, a bit of a stint of libertarian, which I kind of maybe identify a little more libertarian, but the party's kind of weird. Some strange people in that party. I could tell you stories about libertarian meetings. But that's, yeah.
You know, and like I said, I'm probably a little more plan or right, identify. But in 2013, the Republican had the House, Republicans had the Senate, Republicans had the governor's office, and that was the biggest budget in the history of the state. Yeah, that's a scary thing to say out loud and hear out loud because you're right. That's always. to be the cases that, you know, we can't seem to pull a dode.
and the elon on our state and that's a whole other topic and but i'd love to have you on again jeff thanks for being on the show today we're about at the end here and We will because there's some specific things that we can talk about that. you know, may not unite everyone, but at least it's interesting. And I appreciate what you do, man. And I appreciate your friendship. So God bless you, brother. And I like, I like, I like the unicorn title. I'll take it.
All right, guys, stick around. We'll see you next week on I'm Glad You Said.